Restored GDR prestige train to roll again soon

After years of restoration work, the GDR express train SVT Görlitz could soon be rolling again. "The first journeys with the public are scheduled for September," said a spokesperson for the non-profit SVT Görlitz gGmbH. The train enthusiasts had collected funding and donations and put a lot of effort into the restoration themselves. In the next two months, test and training runs are still scheduled, as well as remaining work and technical acceptance, the spokesperson added.

Look inside at the open day - long queues

At an open day at VIS Verkehrs Industrie Systeme GmbH in Halberstadt, the interior of the train was also presented for the first time after refurbishment. Long queues formed. Many people also traveled from other regions of Germany to attend the day.

The train was dismantled into thousands of parts and refurbished

The GDR prestige train once connected Berlin with Prague and Vienna. It was dismantled into thousands of parts and refurbished in Halberstadt. This involved engines, radiator units and suspension, windows and historic lights as well as newly woven curtains. In future, the train will make 40 to 50 journeys a year, for which it can be chartered.

Built in the 1960s

The SVT has a streamlined nose and the streamlined front was once a novelty. It is considered the flagship of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in international transport. Eight trains of this type are said to have been built between 1963 and 1968; only three are still in existence in parts. The high-speed railcar was approved for 160 kilometers per hour. However, the speed limit on the Reichsbahn lines was 120.